Why a 'gossamer' horn of insects above a tree?

[aadenny]

While walking down a lane in the sunset yesterday I noticed a 'gossamer stream' waving above a small tree/bush, barely 10 feet high, one of thirty or more such small trees alongside the road. It looked like a sort of spider's web waving gently above the branches, quite upright. I approached more closely to this particular tree, and was astonished/amused to see it was a 'thermal' of thousands of little midges/mosquitos/whatever circling in a curious column, and all in a particular part of the tree/bush, above a branch and near its summit. None of the other (similar) trees in the area had such a column of midges. Why should this be? Is it a known phenomenon?

[firefly]

What is 'gossamer'? I remember in 'Not Only But Also' gossamer wings-what's it mean? Light? Airy?

[aadenny]

From the OED: gossamer n. 1 filmy substance of small spiders' webs. 2 delicate filmy material. adj. light and flimsy as gossamer. My experience was like seeing a sort of delicate spider's-web sort of material all loose and floating round in a candyfloss-like column over a particular tree branch. back to top